Rouhani: Iran-Turkey ties should be promoted to strategic level in all fields

In a phone call with Turkish counterpart, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran is ready to expand bilateral relations in all fields with Turkey, emphasizing that their ties should be promoted to a strategic level.

The telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan which took place on Thursday evening, Iranian president appreciated the congratulations of his Turkish counterpart on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution victory, saying "we believe that the relations between Iran and Turkey should be promoted to a strategic level in all fields of mutual interest”, Mehr News Agency wrote .

The president also voiced Iran's readiness to make a leap in economic relations between the two countries adding "faster implementation of the use of the national currency of the two countries in business transactions can accelerate and boost Tehran-Ankara economic relations."

Referring to the recent visit of the Turkish foreign minister to Tehran, Rouhani expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the talks, saying "there are a lot of threats in the region towards the interests of both Iran and Turkey and other Islamic countries, and according to very close perspectives of the two countries on regional and international issues, collaborations and political consultations must continue.”

He also called for the development of tripartite cooperation between Iran, Turkey and Russia on regional issues and referred to the proposal to hold a meeting of the three presidents in Istanbul regarding Syria, and called for consultations of the foreign ministers of the three countries to set the agenda and time of the tripartite meeting.

The President of Turkey also congratulated Dr. Rouhani and the Iranian people over the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, calling for the development and deepening of Tehran-Ankara relations in all areas of mutual interest.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized that the use of national currency for business transactions was very important for both countries and could make a leap in Tehran-Ankara economic cooperation.

Referring to Iran and Turkey's close views on major regional and international issues, he said “new regional threats indicate that close cooperation between Turkey and Iran is important, and we are happy with the promotion of cooperation in countering terrorism and boosting security.”

The Turkish president also referred to the great achievements of the Sochi Summit in the direction of establishing stability and security in Syria and invited Iran's president to attend the summit of the Presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia in Istanbul.

He also expressed interest of the presidents of some Western countries to participate in the tripartite summit of Iran, Turkey and Russia.